The Germans liked the coils facing down too. On ACVW engines the coils were mounted terminals down and as close to the dist as possible all through their production from the 40's well into the 80's.
Their engine compartments were sealed to keep the hot air down and out and let the cool air in from the top which also worked well to keep water and other debris from splashing into the compartment. You just needed to keep those fuel lines properly servicesd but thats another topic
I figure the reasoning for terminal down coil mounting was to get the coil as close as possible to the Dist inorder to achieve the shortest high voltage coil lead.
I'll swag their thinking was that a short high voltage lead reduces voltage loss & RFI (on later radio equipped vehicles).
Other factors already mentioned probably worked into the equation too.
Had a fellow tell me the other day that my coil was upside down in my 49 3100 and that it was going to leak out the high voltage socket.
He doubted me when I said that was how it came from the factory
Can't wait for him to see my new high performance orange oil bath AC
Dave
